BUDGIE frontman Burke Shelley spoke to BW&BK;'s Martin Popoff recently about a number of topics including the band's old guitarist, John Thomas, who was felled by a stroke back in the mid-'80s and was eventually forced to leave the band.

"He was a great guitarist with great style and technique and he had a big sound at the time, and it was great, plus he was a good laugh," says Shelley reminiscing. "I think you probably know this, but maybe you don't, but he got ill and had a stroke, and that's why he had to leave. It became impossible for him to play the way he used to. And I'm seeing him soon, actually, John, but an awful time really, and it's hard for him, and it was hard for me. But that's the way things turned out. That's like again, isn't it? But John is a great guitarist. He's just been over in Los Angeles with OZZY, because, you know, when John was in the band, and we were touring with Ozzy, and John was big friends with Randy Rhoads. And Randy used to stay up at his place in Birmingham and all that, and they were mates, it's all about guitars, isn't it (laughs). They were guitar mad, weren't they? And they were good friends, and they even messed around and taped a few things together. So Ozzy wanted to check the tapes out, so John went over a couple weeks back to Ozzy's, because Ozzy wants first shout on the tapes if Randy is on them (laughs). And they wrote a song or two, I think, apparently, and Sharon had gotten a bit cheesed off because John got Ozzy inebriated, which is, oh, that can't be odd (laughs). But you know, Ozzy's great too. It was great having John in the band, it was very sad the way it finished with John. But as a guitarist, he was spot on."

According to Wikipedia, Budgie recenty underwent a thirty-five date UK tour that ran until December 2006, and their new album, entitled, You're All Living In Cuckooland, was released in the UK on November 7th, 2006.